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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Author Interview- Lisa Vooght

Welcome to this week's Author Interview. Today we have Lisa Vooght with us. Glad to have her here for our interview. Please read on to find out more about her.

1. Please tell the readers a bit more about you.I was born and raised in Lancaster County, PA and work in the special education field. Writing started out as a hobby - I entered a contest or two, and wrote several pieces for a local newspaper column "I Know A Story". Eventually I started a blog called Flash Fiction to test the waters further and to hone my skills, which then led to a collection of flash fiction pieces entitled "Small Doses", published by Trestle Press in January 2012.

2. What types of books do you write?I still enjoy writing short stories and flash fiction, although I have an outline for a novel in the works.

3. Who's your main audience?The stories appeal to a broad audience - there seem to be equal numbers of men and women, as well as all age groups. Many have a "twist" at the end which readers find appealing, although I don't rely on it as a crutch.

4. When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?I think many of my themes - love, grief, and loss - are tempered with a gentle humor which touches the reader. Research is also one of my strong points, especially when it comes to historical fiction, which has appeared on my blog and may be the basis of my next collection. Weaknesses include paring down the narrative too much - flash fiction, while short, still needs to be complete -and avoidance of dialogue, which I really need to work on!

5. What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it?Oh, I think every writer gets blocked on occasion. Mine generally stems from anxiety, so I might take a long shower or lie down for a nap to recharge.

6. How many books have you written?Just one, Small Doses. I started a novel, then got fed up with it and stuck it in a drawer.

7. How many are published?Again, just the one book, although I've had several individual stories published.

8. Are you self published or traditionally published?Traditionally published. I'm terrified of computers, formatting and such so I haven't the nerve to tackle self publishing.

9. What's the hardest part of the writing process for you?Coming up with a fresh angle. I have plenty of ideas, but I turn them over and over in my head to try and present them in a new light. For example, there's a local ghost story I'd love to use, but it resembles so many others. How can I make it "mine", keeping the reader both engaged and guessing till the end?

10. What type of books do you enjoy reading?Oddly enough, I read very little fiction. I enjoy history, biographies, medical texts and science magazines.

1 comment:

Hi Raebeth :-) Thank you for posting this. One thing I'd like to bring to your readers' attention: I have pulled the book Small Doses from the market due to concerns over Trestle Press's unauthorized use of art for certain of its book covers. Trestle Press and I have parted on equitable terms.